Original DS browser available online only

Earlier this year, Nintendo pegged a June 4 North American release date for its Opera-developed DS Web browser, trailing behind the software's European and Japanese debuts of 2006. As in both of those territories, the software will arrive in two packages: one compatible with the original DS hardware and one with the redesigned DS Lite.

However, North American stores will be stocking only the DS Lite edition of the browser. Web-wanting owners of the original DS will have to order it online. A representative of the company told GameSpot that "a version of the Web browser for the original Nintendo DS will be available online, while a version for Nintendo DS Lite will be available at retail."

The online store of GameStop is currently offering preorders only for the DS Lite edition of the browser, which it has tagged with a $34.99 price. A complete list of sites that will sell the original DS browser is not yet available, but the Nintendo representative did say it would be carried on Nintendo's own Web site.

This is not the first time Nintendo has kept one of its offerings from the aisles of most brick-and-mortar outlets. Last year, Nintendo released the DS music title Electroplankton exclusively through its online store, the Nintendo World Store in New York City, and "major online retailers."